Author Archive: Prison Books Collective

WHEREAS the Free Alabama Movement, Free Virginia Movement, and other revolutionary prison groups around the United States have jointly called for a Nationally Coordinated Prisoner Work Stoppage on September 9th, 2016, and

WHEREAS IWW members in prison and their allies are at the forefront of fighting the prison system from the inside,

MOVED that the GEB endorse the September 9th prisoner work stoppage with the following language:

The General Executive Board of the Industrial Workers of the World endorses the Nationally Coordinated Prisoner Work Stoppage on September 9th, 2016 organized by the Free Alabama Movement, Free Virginia Movement, and other revolutionary prisoner worker organizations and individuals. It is the duty of working class organizations like the IWW to support the struggle of prisoner workers. We call on other unions and revolutionary working class organizations to offer their support and solidarity to this important cause.

The GEB also encourages branches and IWWs to consider planning an action for September 9, to start a local organizing group, and to donate to the efforts at iwoc.noblogs.org/donate.

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for June.(11″x17″ PDF, 3.3MB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night.Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Last year’s June poster included Abdul Majid, who passed away this past April. Rest in Power, Comrade.

A special thank you to the designers of this month’s poster. Designers are constantly bombarded with requests to work their trade for free, for publicity, or for a cause, and every month the PPBD Posters project relies on their generosity of time, skill and devotion to the cause of prison abolition. Cheers to Rio for putting this month’s rad poster together.

It’s time to start putting the finishing touches on your plans for this year’s International Day of Solidarity with Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. Whether it’s as small as an intimate letter writing night or movie showing with your affinity group or whether you have ambitious plans to upend all of this prison society, please make your June 11th something special. As we like to remind you monthly, anarchist prisoners are in there for us, we are out here for them.

Do you need help advertising for your local Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night? Are you interested in distributing physical copies of the poster? Write to us and let’s find a way to get physical copies of our poster to you: ppbirthday@riseup.net

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for May.(11″x17″ PDF, 502KB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night. Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

A special thank you to the designers of this month’s poster. Designers are constantly bombarded with requests to work their trade for free, for publicity, or for a cause, and every month the PPBD Posters project relies on their generosity of time, skill and devotion to the cause of prison abolition.

Rise, like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number!
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you:
Ye are many—they are few!

Do you need help advertising for your local Political Prisoner Letter Writing Night? Are you interested in distributing physical copies of the poster? Write to us and let’s find a way to get physical copies of our poster to you: ppbirthday@riseup.net

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for April.(11″x17″ PDF, 1.8MB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night.Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Last year, our poster included the political prisoner Brent Betterly, and we are delighted to say that we no longer have to include him on our list of prisoners to support because he was released three days before his birthday last year, and our movements raised a fund after his release. That’s great solidarity after great news.

Similarly, our antifa warrior and proud participant in the Tinley Park Incident Jason Hammond is going to be released this April! He has a release fund that you should contribute to.

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for March.(11″x17″ PDF, 478KB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night. Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for February.(11″x17″ PDF, 838KB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night.Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list (not a listserv, one email per month), or if you would like to contribute in another way to increasing the profile of US political prisoners, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Jared “Jay” Chase has a pre-trial hearing on February 3rd. If you are in Chicago, pack the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 9AM.

February 6th is the 40th anniversary of the arrest of Leonard Peltier in 1976, and an international day of solidarity for this imprisoned comrade. Do something in your community.

UPDATE: As of April 2016, we have moved into a new place in Durham (renting a room from Recyclique). We are currently paying more in rent than we can comfortably afford, so we might look for a new, less expensive place in 2017. Let us know if you have any leads (prisonbooks (at) gmail)!

We’re an all-volunteer, non-profit based out of Carrboro, NC. Since 2006, we’ve been sending thousands of books to NC and Alabama. We are in need of a new home in the Triangle!! Please help. In March, we lose our current space, where we’ve been since 2012.

A brief description of our needs: a space to store our books, space to store folding tables and chairs, space for letters and office supplies, and room to have at least one weekly workday with 5-10 volunteers. We used to be in a 1.5 car garage, so we can have as small a space as that. We need a space that’s open and accessible to volunteers, that has parking and access to a bathroom, along with electricity (ideally heat and AC).

One idea is to share space with a church or non-profit. We can’t afford rent at this point, although might be able to afford a small monthly donation to offset costs or trade work for space.

If you have any contacts with any groups that have space they can share with us, or if you have a space we can use, let us know!! Email us at prisonbooks (at) gmail (dot) com or post on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/prisonbookscollective/

What are our basic needs?

Shelves for books along one or more walls (our current shelves are about 18 feet across, by 8 feet high)

Climate controlled space without humidity problems and with heat. Ideally AC, but we can deal without. (We’ve worked for years out of garage-like spaces but climate control helps protect books and keep volunteers comfortable)

Access to a bathroom (it can be in an adjacent building, as long as it’s open to volunteers)

Space for a file cabinet for storing zine masters, and letters

Space for 2-3 folding tables and 10-12 folding chairs to be stored

Weekly use of the space for a 3 hours session (We’ve always had our workdays on Sunday afternoons, but we can shift if needed.)

Parking: about 5 cars, plus occasionally more when we have a group

Occasional collective meetings in the space

The ability to share the address of the space with the public when we advertise our volunteer workdays via our website, fliers and Facebook, etc.

Our wishes:

Occasional access to the space for collective members on non-workdays, to drop off supplies, pick up packages to mail, pick up book donations, sort and shelve books, staple zines, take inventory

Ability to receive mailed boxes of books (we occasionally get book donations from publishers, and they mail us the books. They can be sent to the home of a group member, but it would be nice if they could be sent to our space)

Occasional book sales (about 2-4 times/year). This would involve: The week prior, storing boxes of books in the space. The day before, setting up. The day of, taking over the space we use for the workday (or another space, if our new home has a different space in mind)

Being able to host fundraisers. We had a comedy show once. Maybe bingo

Group nights (we sometimes have larger groups want to volunteer with us, and we’d like the option to host them on a different day than our regular workday)

Please share this post with others in your network, let us know if you have ideas for a space (prisonbooks (at) gmail(dot)com). And if you’re able, we’d appreciate a donation to offset costs of the move (and our weekly postage expenses to mail books!).

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for January.(11″x17″ PDF, 450KB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night.Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Here is the political prisoner birthday poster for December.(11″x17″ PDF, 275KB) Print it out and plaster your community, both in commemoration of these freedom fighters and to advertise locally for a political prisoner letter writing night.Get together with some friends in your town to send birthday cards to these fighters in our struggle. It’s an easy way to help remind them that they aren’t forgotten. If you make one, remember—don’t use anything like white-out, stickers, tape or glitter on it. We also recommend that you put a return name and address and their name and prisoner number on the card, lest the authorities “lose” the envelope and forget where it is going. If you would like to add a birthday or sign up for our poster mailing list, email us at ppbirthday@riseup.net.

Monday, November 23, 2015
by Dolores Canales, Family Unity Network, and Hannah McFaull, Justice Now

Sacramento – On November 11th, an imprisoned person at Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), faced extreme violence at the hands of prison guards. Stacy Rojas and three others were detained, physically abused, sexually harassed, strip searched in the presence of ma le guards, and were kept without water, food or restrooms for eleven hours. The group was illegally kept in administrative segregation without a lock up order and have been denied health care support for the injuries caused by these officers. Requests to speak with members of the prison’s Investigative Services Unit have so far been ignored.

“I just want to let them know that we have been physically abused, sexually harassed,” said Stacy Rojas, “and that this was just wrong. They used excessive force, totally used excessive force against us and we need help.”

The public acknowledgment of excessive use of force and deadly use of force by police has increased throughout the nation. Video recordings of interactions between the police and the public have increased significantly in recent years as technology has improved and the number of distribution channels has expanded. This is not an option open to people experiencing violence from guards behind prison walls and any attempt to speak out is often met with retaliation and increased force.

“Our communities in and out of lock up have lived experiences with biased policing — ranging from racial profiling, to excessive, and sometimes lethal, use of force”, stated Patrisse Cullors co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter. “We hear about it more and more in the communities we live in, but rarely hear about the traumatic ways that it manifests in the California prison system. Stories like Stacy’s are happening everyday inside of California prisons and jails with little to no measures taken by authorities to keep people safe and hold law enforcement, such as prison guards accountable.”

Advocacy organizations working with people in women’s prisons are familiar with reports of abuse and violence, like that experienced at CCWF last week. The California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Justice Now, the Family Unity Network, the TGI Justice Project and others regularly provide legal and medical advocacy support following incidents of violence perpetrated by correctional officers at women’s prisons.

This group of organizations and Stacy’s family members are requesting an independent investigation of the violence and excessive use of force used. They are requesting medical care and safe housing for Stacy and all those involved. The group also demands an end to the violence imposed on women, transgender people, gender nonconforming people, and communities of color within the California prison system.

“My sister is at the end of a fourteen year sentence and it seems as though some would wish to take that away. This has never happened [to Stacy] before. We have never had fear for my sister’s life”, said Adriana Rojas. “My sister Stacy Rojas’ constitutional rights have been violated by being stripped searched by male guards, assaulted by means of kicking and stomping, taken outdoors in near 40 degree weather, threatened with rape, humiliated, placed in holding cages for nearly 12 hours, and deprived of food and water.” Albert Jacob Rojas added, “They were denied medical attention and denied the right to speak to internal affairs. We ask that anybody who cares about human rights and women’s rights please join us in demanding justice for all.”

Family members and advocates are calling for:

An immediate independent investigation into the violence and excessive force used by guards in this incident.

Suspension of guards involved pending investigation.

Comprehensive medical treatment for injuries sustained during the incident.

No retaliation for speaking out against this abuse.

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeNowOrg/ or @justicenoworg. Join Team Abolition! Join Justice Now in building a movement among people in women’s prisons and local communities to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons.